When he said eleven o’clock, she should have known that he meant three in the morning.  When he said a couple drinks with Chanyeol and Suho, she should have known that he meant coming home drunk as hell.

 

Chen moans on the floor, his shirt sticky with sweat, hand covering his eyes from the bright lights above him.  Oblivious to his girlfriend sitting next to him, he kicks off his shoes haphazardly and swears when his left shoe won’t come off.  A hand stills his leg, and gently pulls the sneaker off, setting it on the floor with the other.  There’s a small sigh.

 

“Miranda?”  He calls out, voice gruff and groggy.

 

“Let’s get you to bed. I think you need some sleep.”  She says quietly, and tries to pull him to his feet.  He swaggers, most of his coordination gone, and almost pitches forward back to the floor, but hands catch him and guide him towards their room and to the bed.

 

“I’m sorry.”  Chen whines out, and mumbles in incoherent speech.  He tries grabbing Miranda, but he’s dizzy and everything is spinning around him.  His hands can’t make purchase on her arm.  She firmly pushes him into the bed and folds the blanket over his form.

 

Lips press against his forehead, light and barely there.  The action makes Chen’s stomach lurch in guilt.  Before he could try saying anything, the door closes, a little too loudly for comfort.  Blood pounds in his ears, and the darkness and soft mattress beneath him lure him to sleep.

 

~

 

The next morning, he wakes up with a massive headache and the memory of what happened last night.  Groaning, Chen forces himself to sit up, and notices the glass of water on the bed stand.  He downs it, and makes his way to the bathroom.  It’s when he strips and sees the reflection of himself in the mirror, he stops.  There are heavy bags under his bloodshot eyes, his hair is a mess of tangled locks, and he has a shadow of stubble that he’s been too lazy to shave off for the past five days.  Rubbing a hand down his face, Chen forces himself to step into the shower.

 

The warm water soothes his aching muscles, and he just stands there for a while, breathing in the haze of steam.  The moist air gives comfort to his raw vocal chords.

 

He’s just tired.

 

He’s tired, and he knows that it’s his fault that he’s feeling as bad as he is.  He’s been overworking himself at the company, practicing the dance moves for EXO’s new comeback, and spending countless hours trying to get his high notes right.

 

But nothing’s working. He’s in a slump, unexplainable and slamming into him out of nowhere, and instead of leaning on someone, Chen succumbs to the numbness of alcohol, relishing the fuzzy feelings that take away all his sadness and confusion that pummels him in the practice rooms.

 

The other boys have noticed also, and have tried to approach him, but he’s just asked them to go out and drink.  They can’t refuse him, with that lost, hopeless look in his eyes.  They go out with him, in fact, they have gone out with him for who knows how many days, to watch him silently drink four to five bottles of soju, and then drag his sorry back to the apartment before fans can spot him.  Suho and Kris have both made efforts to help him, but he’s just blank nods, stares, and successful attempts to hold back tears when they give him a hug and tell him that he can come to them anytime.

 

Suho is the one who tells him that Miranda is there for him too.  Of course, his girlfriend is there for him.  She’s been leaving glasses of water and bowls of soup in the mornings, and tucking him into bed each night with a kiss on his forehead.  Her contagious smiles that he had smugly loved putting on her face, were disappearing.  She’s been quiet around him, an odd mood for her, as her natural self is to freely laugh and joke, and give constant hugs and teasing pokes to the stomach.  He’s been pushing her away too, frustrated at himself for being unable to deal with what’s been happening lately.  Chen’s lost, and he realizes now that he really can’t do this alone.

 

He can’t do this alone, and he can’t keep hurting the people around him.

 

When he gets out of the shower, dresses, and finishes all the soup that Miranda’s left for him in the kitchen, Chen dials Miranda’s number.

 

She doesn’t pick up, but he isn’t surprised, and leaves a voicemail: “Miranda, I need to talk to you.  Call me or text me where you are, please.”  Chen cuts the message there, and is out the door after grabbing a scarf, hat, and shades.

 

He runs down a path he’s memorized a hundred times, feet skidding around a corner and swerving through familiar sidewalks to stop at a quaint studio squished between a half-price bookstore and a small bakery where he’s spent countless hours sipping coffee and snuggled up with Miranda on one of the couches in the corner.

 

The squeaky sign above the door reads: The Dragon’s Den.

 

In other words, Miranda’s secret hiding place, her haven from the rest of the world.  The place where he confessed to her with clay all over his face, the place of their first kiss, the place where he fell in love with her in her element.  He knows she’ll be here.

 

Chen lightly pushes the door open, and the bell tinkles above him.

 

He sees his girlfriend stationed around a wheel, forming a small bowl.  She looks up him and gives him a small smile.

 

“Hey.”  She says softly.

 

Chen’s heart clenches a little, seeing her greet him warmly after how he has treated her.  He’s not even sure he deserves her.  Slowly pulling up a stool, he sits next to her, wringing his hands in his laps as he watches her hands mold the clay.  He’s not quite sure what to say.

 

But he doesn’t need to, as Miranda speaks up in a light, joking manner.

 

“You know I don’t like it when you watch me throw (*AN: "throwing" is working with clay on the wheel).”  She nudges his foot with hers, and he can see her smiling through the locks of hair that is coming out of the loose ponytail hanging by her shoulder.

 

Chen smiles at her jest, and he reaches out to pull the tie out of her hair.  A laugh bubbles up from his throat when she complains, shooting him a look.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Hold on,” he reassures her, still grinning.  Gently gathering her hair up in his right hand, he roughly ties it back in a bun.

 

“Thank you.”

 

Chen wraps his arms around her shoulders.  “I’m sorry.”

 

Wet, clay covered hands wrap around his arms.

 

“It’s okay,” she says.

 

He doesn’t say anything and hugs her tighter.

 

“Are you going to try and fix this?”  Miranda asks.  “I know you’re going through crap, but I still love you, you know that, right?  I’m here to help, but I don’t want to get pushed away again.”

 

He just nuzzles his head in her neck, nodding.  Finally letting go of her, he sits back down.

 

“I don’t know how to get out of this.  I just fell into a slump, and I practiced and practiced, but I just couldn’t get out.  I, I just don’t know what to do!”  Chen’s gets frustrated to even think about it.  

          

“Okay, so you’ve tried barreling through it.  You’ve tried practicing constantly, and that didn’t work.”  She goes over what he’s done.

 

He nods again.

 

“Have I told you lately, how much I love you?” She asks, her face breaking into smile.  Miranda giggles at Chen’s confused expression.  “How much I love you and love you and love you?”  She bends over to kiss him on the cheek and then walks to the sink to wash her hands.  Turning her head, she calls out, “I think that, if what you’re doing isn’t working, we just need to go out and have some fun.  Maybe you just need to relax and take a break for a while.”

 

She drags him to the karaoke room down the street, and Chen laughs as they make complete fools of themselves, belting out the notes to SNSD and Suju songs.  When Miranda jumps up and down to DJ Doc’s Run, she makes him dance with her, and both of them pull out outrageous dance moves that could put Kris and Chanyeol to shame.

 

Chen feels better.

 

They leave the karaoke place, and make their way down the street.  He doesn’t’ have a chance to say anything as she suddenly disappears and comes running back, shoving a chocolate ice cream cone in his face, dabbing some on his nose.  Miranda laughs and her own strawberry ice cream, eyes widening for a second before running for their apartment when she realizes that Chen’s about to get his own revenge.

 

“Get back here!”  He shouts, chasing her down the street.

 

When they get to the apartment, they’re both sticky and shrieking with laughter.  They both get washed up, and when Chen exits the bathroom, he sees Miranda sprawled on their bed, spreading her arms and legs to take up both sides.

 

“Move your , you’re on the left side anyways.”  Chen whines, pushing at her.

 

“Mine.”  She replies dreamily, her voice muffled by the covers she smushes her face in.

 

Miranda suddenly feels Chen laying on top of her, and she struggles, giggling as he tickles her.

 

“I was going to move!”  She says between laughs.  Miranda rolls over and Chen quickly takes up the open space, pulling her back for a hug.

 

“Hey, Miranda?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome.”  She says, grinning.

 

Chen pecks her on the cheek, and smirks when she blushes a little.

 

Miranda notices, and whacks him with a pillow.

 

“Screw you, Mr. Smileypants.”

 

“Love you too.”